Today’s Guest Post is from Susanne Matthews!

Welcome, Susanne!

Good morning and thanks for inviting me to visit your blog again. Today, I would like to talk about a unique opportunity I had, one that at first didn’t seem like an opportunity at all. When Simon and Schuster closed the Crimson Romance imprint, many Crimson authors, including myself, found themselves in a terrifying position. What would happen to our books?

While we commiserated with one another, many of us had to make decisions, the first one being whether or not to request our rights to the books published originally with Crimson. I had eight books with Simon and Schuster, all of them as part of the Crimson Romance Imprint, and several of those books were in bundles with similar stories. Not sure what to do, I waited and watched sales, biding my time. In the end, I decided to ask for the rights to  my first three romance suspense titles—On His Watch, Fire Angel, and In Plain Sight.

While the rights reversion letter would allow me to publish them as they were, I chose to review the books and revise them. As much as my Crimson editor was an exceptional one, there were things I had to leave out of that version that I felt impacted the story, so this time, I’m releasing what someone described as the “author’s cut” the story told the way I had planned.

While I write in many genre’s my strength appears to be suspense thrillers with a soupçon of romance—think Castle. There’s a romantic element there, but it isn’t the dominant aspect of the book. For Crimson Romance, it had to be. Now, while it’s still there, romance takes a back seat to the crime.

These three novels have a common trope: revenge. That gave me the idea to publish them as a series, but more than that, it gave me the opportunity for a “do over.”

I doubt I’m the only writer who looks at my critical reviews and thinks, I could fix that. That’s what I did. I looked at the comments and set to work. While the bulk of On His Watch hasn’t changed, I’ve added new scenes and more than six thousand words to the story. I’ve amped up the suspense, added a bit more to the romance and have made it the first book for my series, Vengeance Is Mine.

As a compulsive editor, the chance to review and revise my books is an opportunity I never expected. Tightening the plot, making sure no details got ignored or forgotten was a thrill. Now, it’s up to the readers.

Blurb for On His Watch

You can’t outrun the past.

On leave from the FBI, Special Agent Jason Spark is enjoying some welcome peace and quiet when he’s called on to help the local sheriff’s department check out a 911 call. Expecting a prank or misdial, he unwittingly steps into a horrifying bloodbath straight out of a Hollywood slasher movie, complete with clues scrawled on the wall.

Nikki Hart’s husband and son are killed, but she survives, badly beaten and barely clinging to life in a coma. When she awakens, she doesn’t know her name, recognize her face, or remember anything about herself and her past. Terrified, and unsure of whom to trust, she clings to the memory of the angel who comforted her in her darkest moments.

The investigation turns up a prime suspect: The Butcher, an elusive hired assassin for the Sicilian mob. As the news of Nikki’s recovery spreads, putting her in this ruthless killer’s sights again, Jason will do whatever it takes to protect the woman he’s learning to love.

Nikki’s beginning to believe Jason might be the angel who protected her in her dreams. But when she learns about the secret role he played in the worst day of her life, can she ever forgive him?

On his Watch, Book One of the Vengeance is Mine Series is available exclusively through Amazon and is part of the Kindle Unlimited program. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D3RKDLK

Thanks again for this opportunity to visit your blog.

Thanks for coming, Susanne! And great news! Susanne has offered a free copy to a random winner. The only caveat? You must make a comment to be in the drawing! Winner will be chosen on Sunday evening. Thanks for visiting, and thanks for stopping by again, Susanne!